Tuesday 30 March 2010

Two days to go…

Ok, is that bad?
I’m counting the days to my holiday.

Anyway, I don’t want to upset all the hard working people out there so I will stop…

OK, once more… 2 days to go

I can’t help it…


Anyway, the happy news of the day is about Ricky Martin. You must have heard it, so I’m not going to talk about it…


What I’d like to comment more is a discussion I had with ‘big M’s girlfriend on Saturday night. It took place in a bar, right before going to the club. We were quite tipsy by then, I must add…
She: ‘big M’ is quite happy that you and ‘gb’ came along tonight. It showed him that you are more than just colleagues.
Me: Well, we got along really well from the beginning. We did spent some really nice nights out in the past as well
She: Don’t remind me. I can still remember that I was feeling a bit weird about the night that ‘big M’ spent at gb’s.
(after going out and getting drunk)
‘Gb’: What?
She: Well, I know that he spent the night over at yours and it’s the first time he’s actually spending time with gay people. I couldn’t but feel a little threatened! Don’t get me wrong. At first I thought that ‘gb’ would be a threat because he is always ‘out there’ speaking about sex and making dirty jokes (yes, gb can be like that). Then, I met you Nik and I realized that probably ‘big M’ is exactly your type.
‘gb’: Yes, Nik likes his men big and hairy.
Me: Don’t listen to him. I’d never do anything like that.
She: Well, I just couldn’t help myself... I can’t help feeling insecure sometimes.

To be totally honest I find big M to be quite hot. He’s tall, hairy, muscled with green eyes. He’s also doing a triathlon for charity later this year. However, he’s a mate (and straight and in a happy relationship). I’d never do anything like that. I’ve never made a pass on someone in a relationship (that I knew about). I also don’t think I have never made a pass on a real friend, gay or straight.

OK, I had a crush (or two) on a straight friend in the past but I never did anything about it. Maybe it’s the unattainable feature that can be so appealing. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s a gay fantasy to seduce a previously straight guy. (How straight can he be if he’s seduced?) It worries me slightly that ‘big M’ girlfriend thought that I was a threat to her. Maybe it was more obvious to her, probably from my body language that I liked him.


I don’t know if it’s just me, but after I get into the ‘friendship’ zone I can’t easily go back. If something has to happen with someone, it has to happen in the beginning of our acquaintance. OK, I have friends that I’ve slept with, like the Brazilian, but that’s just an unsuccessful relationship. We tried it and it didn’t work out. We’re good friends now but it didn’t start like that.

That is the reason that I’ve never slept with ‘gb’ and I’ll probably never will. Many of our common friends have commented about it, asking how we can be good friends and nothing more ever happened. Maybe it’s a gay thing that friends after a while, during a drunken session do sleep together. Funnily enough, ‘big M’ even placed a bet on us. He believed that we would sleep together in the next month or so (he lost the bet). He still owes us dinner and drinks for that.

However, even if I do believe that an amazing relationship can evolve from a good friendship, it’s very difficult to happen though and it never happened to me.

Monday 29 March 2010

Monday morning…

Sometimes, Monday are… well, let’s say difficult… especially, if you haven’t slept the previous two nights.
I went out on Saturday night.

OK, I went out on Friday night as well but I only went for dinner and to the cinema. I saw ‘Kick Ass’ which was surprisingly interesting. I expected it to be really bad, but to be honest it’s a coca-cola, popcorn easy to follow, funny, action movie. It was perfect after spending a very tiring day at work.


Anyway, on Saturday I went out. It was ‘big M’s’ birthday. That’s the guy that was recently made redundant from my office. He’s a nice guy, so ‘gb’ and me, we’ve decided to meet him.
We also wanted to see him and check on how he’s doing.

We met him in a pub in Old street. That’s an area of eastern London with some really nice pubs, bars and clubs. To give you an idea of how the night went, the moment we walked in the pub, ‘big M’ went and brought us shots of tequila to help us keep up with their drinking.


Unfortunately, we couldn’t but talk a bit about the way he was laid off. It wasn’t a happy subject but it was obvious that ‘big M’ wanted to talk about it with someone that knew what happened and the people involved. The way that they judged that he would be the one to go from the team wasn’t unbiased which made him quite upset. He was very happy that we went to see him though.

To cut the long story short, after the pub we headed to a bar and then to a club. The club was called the ‘aquarium’. I hadn’t been there before. The place was wicked. OK, by the time we went there I was drunk so I can be wrong. It staged a party called carwash with 70’s-80’s music so we danced our hearts out. The club also has a big swimming pool and Jacuzzi. We went a bit late so they had them closed but from what I could see, people stripped into their underwear and into the pool. That’s something I haven’t done in a club but don’t know if I will…

Anyway, I managed to get home at 4:30 in the morning and go to sleep a little bit after 5 (damn the change of time).

‘JJ’ was working on Sunday afternoon, so he couldn’t join me on my night out. From my past experiences (with other men) I would expect him to be slightly upset / jealous that I was out until early in the morning. I was feeling slightly guilty about it but he didn’t say anything than being genuinely interested about whether I had fun. Maybe it’s my Greek background that made me feel like that. I fear that Greeks are in general more demanding / jealous / overreacting. I’ve heard that Italians can be like that too.

I wanted to see ‘JJ’ before his work, so I forced myself to get up around 11 to go and meet him for coffee and brunch. I wasn’t that talkative and I was wearing a pair of sunglasses to hide the panda eyes (not to scare the children) but we had fun. Funnily enough, apart from being tired, I hadn’t had a major headache.

Stupidly enough, I stayed late watching the ‘opposite of sex’ (I love this movie - don't ask me why) yesterday on the television. By the time it was finished, I had passed the point of being really tired and I wasn’t able to relax and get some proper sleep.
I found it quite challenging today writing this post… I couldn’t concentrate enough. I’m really sure about the outcome either. I’ll have to reread it tomorrow.

Friday 26 March 2010

Friday Happiness...

Friday Happiness...
It’s Friday and after a small break with a localized storm, it is sunny again. You can actually see the blue of the sky (that doesn’t happen that often in England). I feel happy / relaxed.
I have drinks with colleagues after work and movie plans with JJ (that’s only for tonight).

I’m leaving you with a couple of Garfields…











Thursday 25 March 2010

Thursday thoughts…

Thankfully this week is flying by amazingly quickly. It’s Thursday already and the weekend is close. In a week I’m flying home, to Greece, for Easter. I shouldn’t be using the word ‘home’ for Greece. I’ve been happily living in London for 4 years now. I should call that home, but anyway…

I’m going to my parents’ place for Easter. Better?

Easter for Greek Orthodox is amazingly important. It’s a very religious, family gathering celebration. It’s more important than Christmas. On Easter Sunday, families gather to eat, celebrating the resurrection of Christ. Even for those that are not religious, Easter Sunday is a happy day to celebrate life with loved ones. It has evolved into a tradition more than actual religious celebration.


I’m going to talk about Greek Easter most likely in another post. I haven’t been in Greece for Easter for three years. Since Friday and Monday is a bank holiday I always liked to travel. Last year I was in Stockholm.

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In a very different matter, on the 25th of March 1821, it is believed that the Greek Revolution began against the Ottoman Empire. The revolution began in the Peloponnese and spread to the rest of Greece. If I am not wrong, in the Treaty of Andrianople in 1829, the Turkish Sultan first accepted the independence of a small part of what would expand to become Greece as it is now in the next century.


In remembrance of that day, today is a bank holiday in Greece. The troops are marching through each major town and there are school parades as well.

That means of course that all my Greek friends don’t work today, when I…

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Apart from all these events, there is something that happened yesterday. It is quite personal but this is a personal blog, so I’m going to be honest about it. My day yesterday started with JJ texting me about various things he’d like to do to me (let your imagination fly).We had dinner plans, but before that we would meet at my place for some quality, ‘us’, time.

So, we spend the most part of the time exchanging text messages that are easily XXX rated. When we finally met in the evening he was already quite worked up about the whole thing, so he got “stage fright”. I know that it can happen to everyone, so I didn’t pay that much attention. We had our fun in the end, but it wasn’t what promised in the text messages.

While I was OK with it, he wasn’t. I know how it can be for a man’s pride but there wasn’t something I could do to help him and make him feel better no matter what I said. He started feeling bad that he’s not meeting my expectations and that he’s being a disappointment (so not true). That dark cloud of his worries stayed over us for the duration of the dinner and the rest of the night.

It is so flattering that the guy that I’m in love with tries so hard to please me. However, it got to a point that I started feeling frustrated. No matter what I was telling him I couldn’t make him feel better. There was some new unnecessary tension that spoiled our mood and I started feeling in a way irritated. I had a long day at work and I was looking for a carefree night with my boyfriend without all that. I couldn’t make him relax though…


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On another matter, I am sorry to say that after successfully working only on Linux since December, if I remember correctly, I was forced to go back to Windows. Yes, I abandoned my Ubuntu for Vista. The reason is that my Nokia mobile phone and my new Garmin Forerunner 305 have software that only works on Windows. I was able to ignore and not use the Nokia Ovi software, but I really need the Garmin software to monitor my runs…
Boo…


That’s it for today. I promise to come back with a happier post soon…

I also have to post the next parts of my military service story (part 4, part 3, part 2, part 1) if you want… I left it two months ago unfinished. I only finished the basic training. I still have to cover 9 more months.

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Gay life starts at 30?

I turned 29 a couple of weeks ago. That’s my last year in my 20’s. (YAY!!) After that, I enter the golden decade of my thirties! Accidentally, on my birthday I bought the latest issue of a UK based gay magazine called ‘Attitude’ that was dedicated to ‘old age’ and also had an article about how gay life begins at 30. The article itself is not serious journalism and of course doesn’t extend too much on the issue at hand. It just provides some examples of sexy older men etc.However, it got me thinking a bit:
“Does gay life starts at 30?”

In order to answer that, the first thing to do is of course try to understand the question. (I’m getting too technical – I know – It’s the engineer in me). I assume that by ‘starting life’, we mean becoming happier / more content / enjoying our everyday life more. However, since there is a comparison to that statement we’ll have to compare that happiness to something else, let’s say the late teens, early twenties. I think that’s fair. Let’s try to pinpoint the differences between life at twenties and life in thirties. (I’m done being technical (for now)).

If we’d like to answer positively to the question, the thirties are a decade where a man (most or some of them anyway) has gained some experience in life and is more able to lay back and enjoy it. He now knows what he likes and is not afraid to look for it. If he is lucky, he’ll have a good circle of friends that lasted over years, proving their love and devotion. He has a job that can support him and a career already in its track. He starts enjoying different / simpler things in life and he doesn’t have to get stoned / drunk to enjoy a nice night out. Funnily enough, he’ll even start enjoying exquisite tastes of food, wine or spirits that he couldn’t appreciate earlier.

He is also above the ‘drama’ that a younger’s gay life might contain. Feeling more secure, mature and established he is not that interested on other people’s opinions and gossips. Also, his sex life is better. Sex now lasts longer and can be more passionate. Longer lasting partners enter his life who provide security, companionship and stability.(According to my personal taste) Men in their thirties are better looking and look much sexier than people in their early twenties.

Examples of sexy men in their thirties: Ryan Reynolds, Wentworth Miller, Bradley Cooper, Tom Brady, Jake Gyllenhaal or Ben Cohen

Ryan Reynolds

Jake Gyllenhaal

Ben Cohen

Bradley Cooper

On the downside however, a man of his thirties starts seeing the first wrinkles on his face, realizes that he can’t keep on having the same diet and a heavy night out takes a greater toll on him. Now, with the grey hair that start appearing he sees that hangovers are more difficult to overcome and moisturizing is a necessity…

If we’d like to answer negatively to the question, the late teens and early twenties are a more carefree age. A young man of that age feels that life is full of possibilities and opportunities. He’s not sure where he’ll be in a year or so. Most of the things happening are new and very exciting. The first kiss, sex, love makes life so much more interesting and thrilling.

Not having many responsibilities also means that a young man is able to take the next train for a backpacking experience of a lifetime. Most important problems of that age include clothes, the next kiss (etc.) and what to do next weekend, where to go out. Mistakes can be excused and blamed on the innocence or inexperience of the age. Bad habits like junk food or boozing don’t have the same bad effects. Getting Bald is not an issue.

Some people believed to be sexy men of that age are: Zac Efron, Daniel Radcliffe, Alexandre Despatie, Novak Djoković, Chace Crawford, Nicholas Hoult:

Daniel Radcliffe

Novak Djoković


Nicholas Hoult

OK, I have to admit that every age has its good and its bad side. However, I do believe that I am in a much happier place at the moment than I was ten years ago. I am more secure in my shoes, stable, happy, with great friends and a boyfriend that loves me. I am the master of my life (wow, I like how that sounds) with my own income that allows me a lifestyle I enjoy. I do believe that the thirties will bring to me even greater things. So even if gay life doesn’t start in 30, it will definitely continue in an astonishing way.

PS 1. Men in their thirties are much sexier…
PS 2. I think that I’ll upload a ‘life starts in 40’ post in 10 years…

Ghost Stories

Yesterday, it was theatre day! We went to see the ‘Ghost Stories’ in the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. I enjoy their productions very much because they are well made and much cheaper than West End.

This time it was no different. The play was interesting. It lasts for 1 hour and 20 minutes without any break. The general idea is about a professor narrating three ghost stories by interviewing the main characters that lived each one of them. The actors playing were quite good and I really enjoyed the sets and direction. Unfortunately, the stories themselves are not that scary but predictable. They reminded me of the ‘Tales of The Crypt’ TV series. They rely on startling / scaring the spectators with loud creepy noises in the dark. I fear that the play fails to catch the atmosphere of other plays, like for example the ‘Woman in Black’ which I did enjoy more.

Overall, I think that it was a nice play, but not something exceptional. If you don’t have something else to go and see, it is not a waste of time.

Ah, they make a reference in the play of this website (scienceofghosts.com) that contains pictures where something ghostly appears. If you have time, take a look at it... It’s fun

Monday 22 March 2010

From a distance…

I was in the tube on Friday night. I had gone to the gym after work and the time was around 9 in the evening. The carriage was mostly empty (don’t know why) and I had a man and a woman sitting right opposite of me. He seemed to be in his early thirties and she was in her late twenties. Obviously they were on a date, a blind date, arranged through the internet. They mentioned a well known dating site. (No, I wasn’t eavesdropping; I was just sitting too close. What was I supposed to do? Put my fingers in my ears not to listen to them?).


Their body language was so apparent, at least to me sitting from a small distance. She had turned her body facing him and was smiling or laughing to almost everything he was saying. He seemed a bit too self conscious, trying to appear interesting. She was also touching him from time to time. You know that seemingly random touch on the hand or thigh when you laugh in someone’s joke. Her touch however was making him even more uncomfortable. He was trying not to look directly at her for too long but instead was trying to face down, avoiding her gaze. I thought that he liked her very much but couldn’t believe his luck about actually going out with her.

At some point he did a big gesture following a story he was saying. His right arm came close to her face and she grabbed it and stroked her chin with the back of his hand. He felt surprised and made a comment like: “Yes, that is my hand”. I had to try to hide my laugh. It was so sweet. She kept for a while holding his hand but he kept on telling an irrelevant story with apparently no ending. He didn’t seem to register the fact that she was onto him. I was actually thinking of telling him to kiss her. It was very obvious that she wanted to and that he was hesitating.


As long as I stayed in that train (I had to get off after a couple of stops) he didn’t do any gesture or movement towards her. I knew that in order for something more to happen, she would have to make it happen. She would have to try to make him open up, relax and take the initiative. I didn’t know however if she would stay interested long enough to give him the time needed.


The whole scene made me wonder about various things. I know a couple of male friends that I could imagine in a similar situation doubting the signs and not seeing what’s going on. (And I am not excluding myself.) How difficult is it to read them? I think that in most cases, women tend to be more “focused”, knowing what they want and how to get it, when men tend to be more innocent / slow in seeing what’s going on.

It reminds me of an episode of ‘Friends’ where Charlie, a hot paleontologist was making a move on Ross in ‘The one in Barbados’.
Charlie: Hum, so, I started to say you something earlier, hum... (pause) There was another reason I realized it was time to end it with Joey. I kind of realized I... was starting to have feelings... for someone else.
Ross: (apparently unruffled) Oh. Can I... can I ask who?
Charlie: I think you know.
Ross: I think I know too but I've been really wrong about this stuff in the past, so...
She then has to kiss him, stop for a bit before he kisses her back...


I also can’t stop thinking that if the couple flirting was a gay couple, things would have evolved differently. In most cases (unfortunately), “innocent” flirting when it comes to gay flirting is nonexistent. I think that things tend to progress faster and sex becomes a factor faster.

Friday 19 March 2010

I just love my bed…

It’s so nice sleeping in your own bed after spending the week sleeping on an air mattress in the living room! I am not complaining though. The air mattress is nice. You have to love the squeaking sounds and rough surface, or sleeping so close to the floor which you actually hug while sleeping.I was also able to wake up without having to sneak into the bathroom for a quiet shower and I got dressed in my room and not in the kitchen! I’m so happy for small everyday tastes of happiness!Yes, that means that my guests left me and my housemate in what now appears as a very big and empty flat! Going from 7 people back to 2, is something we’ll have to get used to again. It was very nice having them around though.

For the last day of my two friends staying here (the family had left earlier in the morning) I took the day off work. I wanted to be with them and show them around the town a bit. First thing in the morning we headed to the Old Spitafields Market. We had there an amazing breakfast and spent the rest of the morning browsing through stuff:


From there we headed to Canary Wharf. That’s a fairly new developed area where the big money is now being played. It was quite fun, because we arrived there around lunch time and most of the suit dressed people were storming to get something to eat.


Changing the scenery completely we headed to Greenwich. I just love that area. I like its nautical character and the observatory:


The day ended with a visit to Westfields and dinner in a local pub.

Yes, it was a very busy day. I don’t know how many miles we covered. The girls loved it though (I think) and I had a very nice break from work. Unfortunately, now comes the part where I’ll have to clean / tidy my place and catch up with stuff I haven’t done all week. I still have magazine articles I want to go through, comic books to read, study a bit, go to the gym and go running. My Garmin Forerunner 305 arrived 3 days ago (my parents’ birthday present) and I’ve only opened the box once just to take a very quick look at it. I haven’t even charged it.

That for me is outrageous!

Tuesday 16 March 2010

Silly Quiz tests…

Don’t ask me why, I just love them.

Especially the personality or IQ test!

Take this for example: ‘The Shower Test’

Which part of your body do you shower first? It’s easy, right?

Is it your hair?
Is it your armpits?
Is it your chest?

I answered my hair:

Apparently I am the artistic type!

Probably it has to do with the part of your body that first gets shampoo! It might be related with the involuntary movement of my hands to cover my head and massage it. Yes, this could be it. I just love my brain…

Another difficult quiz is the Ice Cream Personality test!

Which is your favorite flavor? You can choose between chocolate, chocolate dip cookie dough, strawberry and vanilla.

I went for cookie dough.


Yes, I am a born leader! All born leaders just dig that ice cream flavor. I can so imagine Alexander the Great, Hitler, Ghandi or JFK having a scoop…

It can get very complicated though:

‘Do you know how to flirt’?

OK, I am charming with caution… I can leave with that…

You can find these and other not very serious tests in that webpage

Queen of the desert

Yesterday I met my friends after work centrally. I took them to Chinatown to try the ‘local’ Chinese cuisine and then we headed to the Palace Theatre to watch ‘Priscilla: Queen of the Desert’ as planned. I had booked the tickets two weeks in advance and we had fairly good sits in the stalls. In general the play was brilliant. The story is not something phenomenon. It’s just a road trip of 3 drag queens. However the music is very uplifting and the actors have nice voices.The thing that really is captivating is the costumes! I have no idea who made them, but to be honest they are a work of art! You have to see them to believe them:



To good thing is that the girls loved it. It was a big West End production that mesmerized you. On the way back I took them to see ‘Waxy O’Connors’ pub which used to be a church. There is inside even the tree that used to be outside the church’s entrance.



By the time we got back the family was already in the bedroom trying to put little ‘C’ to sleep, so I didn’t see them at all!

I’m now thinking today’s course of action…

Monday 15 March 2010

La maison de fous

As I’ve already explained we have people visiting. YAY…

Let me start from the beginning:
I have decided that I don’t want to have children. I came to that conclusion after spending my weekend with a seemingly lovely two-year old that drove her parents crazy! When I was growing up I kind of (wrongly) concluded that since I’m gay, I would not have a family and grow children of my own. I now know better but still I don’t think I can do it. I can’t even take care of my plants. I had a very small olive tree that I didn’t manage to keep alive. I really liked that small plant. I tried to take care of it but still… I blame England’s weather but the fact still remains that the tree didn’t survive. What if that tree had a real name, two legs, two arms, etc… Oh, no… I couldn’t…
(By the way, the rest of my plants are thriving)

Anyway, back to my point. Little ‘C’ is my housemate’s niece currently staying with her family in our place. Unfortunately she is the only new member of the family which means that she is being spoiled by parents and grandparents alike! She is not easily told ‘no’ and what little ‘C’ wants is what little ‘C’ gets. What is worse is what little ‘C’ does not have a normal daily schedule. They let her have long naps during the day which means that she doesn’t go to sleep at night. At Friday night she slept around 1 in the morning (and she is two)! I was dead tired two hours before that, after having a torturous gym session with my personal trainer after work!


Apart from the sleeping problem, we have little ‘C’ crying and yelling to have everything her own way. We had a huge emergency situation with her losing it and uncontrollably crying because she couldn’t find her mother who was for 5 minutes taking a bath! I didn’t know what to do with her. She wasn’t listening to me and I couldn’t make her stop crying! And she is so amazingly energetic! She is constantly running around!

If I could add sound to the picture, you'd realise what I went through

The bad thing about my house is that the doors do not lock apart from the toilet doors so I didn’t have any privacy during the weekend. Have you tried to keep away a two-year old that really wants to enter your room? I gave up that idea from the start and I was joining in the ‘fun’ in the living room. That is the main reason I still haven’t read the article about how gay life begins after 30.

Overall, I tried to reasonably keep my distance and go out a bit during the weekend. I didn’t follow them to a number of walks they tried to do. I saw ‘JJ’ for a coffee and lunch on Saturday and I also went out that day. I had the need to go clubbing, forget diapers and strollers and enjoy my birthday. I gathered some of my friends and I went to ‘G-A-Y late!

G-A-Y late

That is a club in the centre of London. There is a bar called ‘G-A-Y’ and the owners opened a club with the ‘late’ wording next to it. The club is not something that great. It’s a big room that has some screens on the walls that display music videos. The music also is not that great since it is very mainstream pop oriented! You can listen to modern stuff but also things like Spice Girls or old Whitney Houston! When was the last time you heard ‘I wanna dance with somebody’ in a club?

However with the right company you can have a really good time! I needed this kind of blowing off some steam. The place is in a very convenient location since it is central and the music is perfect after some alcohol! I finished my night dancing on the main podium really enjoying myself!


I went back home around 4 inthe morning to wake up with little ‘C’ asking for her milk around 9. She only wanted her mummy to prepare it and not auntie! Apparently it tastes differently. The whole building must have heard her say that.

OK, I don’t want to sound mean. Little ‘C’ can be adorable. She is very social, sharing her toys, singing and dancing. She makes your heart melt with her smile and when she sleeps she looks like an angel! Unfortunately she doesn’t sleep much…

Friday 12 March 2010

Arrivals…

I’ve always enjoyed having people over. My house is always open for my friends. I love to have them staying for dinner, coffee, just a movie or a board game. I loved the fact that while I was studying my house was right in city centre, close to the university and I had people passing by all the time.

I’ve been trying to do the same while I’m in London. I always invite my friends from Greece to come. I believe it’s an opportunity not to miss since I can accommodate and provide free tours of the city.

So, this weekend I have one of my best friends coming to London with her sister. Her sister is quite younger and has never travelled outside Greece. I hope it will be as amazing for her. They had this trip planned since before Christmas.

Lovely London in March

I have mentioned about them coming a while ago. What I think I haven’t mentioned before is that my housemate (‘hm’) also have people coming. She’s having her brother, his girlfriend and their two-year old daughter with them!!!!

OK, I’ll help you count:
Two of us already living in that house: 2 +
My friend and her sister: 2 +
The family: 3
Total: 7!

So, we will be 7 of us living in the same roof. My flat is not that big. Thankfully it’s a two bedroom, two bathrooms flat. Having two bathrooms I hope means less queues. The family will go into one room, the sisters will go to the other and the permanent residents (us) will stay in the living room.

Different version of a Full House

I’m not worried as much for the number of people living with us as I am worried with the two-year old. I’ve heard that she’s pretty spoiled and can be a pain in the ass. She’s used to do things like waking up in two in the morning screaming demanding her milk or toys. I know how to handle adults but I am not used to spending so many days with a toddler. Please tell me you have some tips to give me!
(I just hope that not knowing me and the beard will scare her a bit to be more well behaved). OK, don't get me wrong. I love children (as long as we keep our safe distances)...

My friend’s been here before but her sister hasn’t and she would like to see as many London sights as possible. That means that their day will start early and they will try to cover each day as much “distance” as possible. I’ll be going to work as normal and I’ll be meeting them after that. I might only take one day off next week for a day trip or something.

I’ve booked tickets for them to go and see Priscilla – Queen of the desert. They wanted to see a big West End musical and I haven’t seen this one. I heard it’s quite enjoyable.

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On a slightly different subject following my birthday,
I bought yesterday the UK based gay magazine called Attitude. The theme of this month’s issue is about getting old. There is a huge article about how a ‘gay man’s life starts at 30’! I haven’t read it yet but I’m quite interested in going through it. Knowing the magazine I know it’s not going to be top journalism or something to think about for long. However, I’d like to see their point of view.

Even before reading the article I know that this statement contains true facts. I truly believe that the next decade of my life will be great. Let’s wait and see…